Pubdate: Tue, 18 Jan 2011 Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 The Abbotsford Times Contact: http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009 Author: Aeriol Alderking GOD IS GOOD FOR THOSE BATTLING ADDICTION Editor, the Times: Robert Rock, you are aptly named. Whatever happened to cause you to become so hard-hearted towards those who have made unfortunate choices in their lives? Surely you would not pretend to have never taken a wrong turn at some point in your life? First, you profess concern for addicts being victimized by Christians and then in the next breath you say you don't care about them. Your final position is that the government should protect society from them. It sounds as though you have been hurt by them and possibly the church as well. For this I am truly sorry. God does love you and sometimes we Christians fail to really demonstrate this. However, as we are also addressing literacy, may I recommend the book "Chasing the Dragon" by Jackie Pullinger. You will find it most enlightening. God sent a 20 year old music major to the most notorious drug den on earth; the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. She was armed with an oboe and her belief in God. This woman's work with addicts and their families in a city run by the most dangerous triad resulted in thousands of addicts becoming drug free, law enforcement being changed, the end of the walled city and precedent setting court cases that triad members did not belong to gangs for life. She accomplished what the government and professional agencies could not. I have friends who received professional support and are now addicted to methadone instead of heroin. They rue the day they listened to these professionals. The Chinese government also uses methadone while Pullinger and her squad of former addicts help current addicts go through withdrawal without drugs. St. Stephen's Society has been operating since 1966 with such a great degree of success that they have now been invited to come into mainland China to assist with the problems there. I invite you to step outside your narrow focus and gain some real insight into what moves people to change, both addicts and those who work with them. True power to inspire change, whether you are a professional or an oboe player, is love. I hope you will find love in your life for yourself and others. It is the only thing that makes life worth living. Aeriol Alderking, Abbotsford - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom